Boiler-feed regulator.



H. E. GADE & D. R. KNAPPH BOILER FEED REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1908.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910.

H. E. OADE & D. R. KNAPP.

BOILER FEED REGULATOR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1908.

Patented M0115, 1910.

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H. E. UADE & D. R KNAPR BOILER FEED REGULATOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 19, 1908.

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ra rrrr Fld ltlfi HOWARD E. CADE, 0F PENCOYD, AND DAVID R. KNAPP, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOILER-FEED REGULATOR.

Application filed August 19, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Howxnn E. (Jane and DAVlI) R. KNArr, citizens of the United States, residing,respectively, at Pencoyd, in the county of Montgomery, and at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia, both in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler-Feed Regulators, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and forming part of the specification.

Our invention. relates to that class of devices wherein an expansion tube is connected to a steam boiler at the mean water level and is so arranged that when the water in the steam boiler is at its normal height, the expansion tube is closed to the steam space of the boiler by the water in the boiler acting as a seal to the steam to the expansion tube and vice versa, when the water in the boiler is below normal, due to the evaporation of the water, the expansion tube is connected to the steam space in the boiler and the expansion and contraction of said tube due to the difference in temperature when opened and closed to the boiler steam being utilized to control a valve in the feed water line to said boiler, the actuation of said valve in turn controls hydraulic means wherein the steam supply to a steam pump supplying water under pressure to said boiler may be regulated with precision.

It the object our invention, first, to provide a simple and etlicient means for automatically regulating the flow of water to a boiler, provided with an expansion tube, as aforesaid, and in case a boiler feed pump is required to furnish feed water under pressure to said boiler, hydraulic means in cooperative relation with said tube whereby the operation of the boiler feed pump may be adjustably predetermined with precision, second, to provide a means whereby the boiler steam may be admitted to said tube on low mean water level and cut off to said tube on high mean water level, third, to provide an arrai'igenient of mechanism controlling the valve in said feed water line whereby the tendency of abnormal hydraulic pressure to open same will be reduced to a minimum and thereby prevent water being admitted to the boiler at an undesirable time, fourth, to provide mechanism supporting said tube so that when under expansion,

Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Apr. 5, 1910..

Serial No. 449,334.

all tendency of said tube to buckle may be eliminated, fifth, to provide mechanism supporting said tube so that no bending strains will be exerted on same upon installation,- and sixth, to provide means whereby the condensation of steam in said tube may be drained back to the boiler.

With theseobiects in view our invention consists in certain novel features of construction, arrangementof parts as will be herein after fully described and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure l is a front elevation of a boiler, showing a convenient embodiment of our invention applied thereto, Figs. 2 and 3 are, respective, plan and elevation views showing more clearly the arrangen'ient of parts connected to the free end of the expansion tube. Figs. l. and 5 are elevation views of the supporting mechanism for said tube, Fig. 0 is a vertical section of an automatically-operated governor controlling a balanced valve in the steam line to the aforesaid boiler feed pump, Fig. 7 is a section on AB showing the arrangement of the yoke in relation to the supportin standards, Fig. 8 is a side elevation view showing the relative position of the valve operating mechanism upon the expansion and contraction of said tube and Fig. 9 is an end elevation view of Fig. 8.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In said figures. 1 designates a boiler provided with a feed water pump l which supplies water under pressure to said boiler through pipe and 5 designates the supply pipe for said pump.

(3 designates a tube made from some metal having a high coelticient of expansion, such as copper, and is connected at one end by the pipe 7 to the mean water level of the boiler and at the other end by the pipe 8 to the water in said boiler. Pipe 8 serves as a drain for any condensation of steam that. takes place in said tube-'6. he pipes 7 and are small in COHiPtll'lSOH with the expansion tube (3 and are put in place after said tube has been connected and adjusted throughout. The maximum travel of the expansion tube is a small fraction of an inch and the lengths of pipes 7 and S and the number of bonds required to make the said connections enables these pipes to have sufficient flexibility to allow the expansion tube to expand and contract and perform its function.

The n'iean wa l l by the dotted line C and or level of the boiler is indicateo in i the pi 3" gage D. a

T'Vhen the water is at a indicated by the gage, steam is admitted to he tube (3 and vice versa, when t water rises above said inean water level deprived of steam, due to as a seal to pipe T.

i eat the tube being subject- 'i -e range of temperature will ex- "ct aceooingly.

i e The lower extremity of sait tube is connected to the terminal membet it) whch is pivotally connected to the supper llby the pin 12. The support 11 1: ecured to the beam U-l by bolted engagee ignates a yoke upon which a bell ever is mounted. The bell c'ank l'i'ee extremity of the arin Ll iiectine e y the pin Eat.

it a -tes a standard connected at one I or d yoke by threaded engagement a other end to the member 17 by s' led the member 17 pivot- 3 e ct-ed by the pin 18 to the support 19 which is securet. to the beam (it by bolted cnred thereto by the pin is 'ie adjusting rod 21 which d and provided with 1 side the part 10. It is obviou v t shitting said nuts longitudinally with respect to said rod, a certain de rree 'llation of the bell crank o't osci can he ehected which permits of a inichroniet at of the relation of the parts.

a chwk valve in the teed oesignates the stem of a yoke secured to said check aline-znent with the valve cani pivoted to the yoke i 3; and tree to oscillate 1 T i connected thereto at the water said stein will be zero.

; kept in alinenient with the rain by means of the yoke cam and which also acts a. a guide therefor.

. (ftlll aforesaid stated. 38 des gnates a i attached to said cam 30 and disposed oppos a yoke adapted to embrace t to the yoke 20,. by threaded 3 v valve controlling the steam supply to said puinp. l2 designates the stem of said valve partially einbacing said l designates a pin carried on said earn and serves as a stop to limit the degree of oscillation oil the cam by its en agino with the yoke 29.

designates a lever arin attached to the ble weight rin 33 by t 3t. and carries the adios which Sitfttl'ttl to said lever a set screw This weigh acting through its leverage s'illicient to cause the cam to oscillate and cl the valve 3 against norinal feed water pressure. The long arm 36 ot' the l ell crank lever connects with the le er arm 33 by the connecting r llllS and lever connection between lever arm 3 awn 3b can be made a chain or other flexie connection as its fun -tion being only to said lever arm 33 and open said valve t the weight act'ng thereon is sutlicient to cause the lever arm to lower a ainst norinal b 0 teed water pressure and close said 'alve a. lever arni site to lever arm 33. By transteirinp the weight from the lever arin to lever arm 38 an opposite movement of the valve is eifected by a downward movement of the weight. This may be desired in case it becomes necessary to invert the valve niechi anisni due to structural conditions near the feed line.

39 designates a steam line to the steam end of the pump l and l0 designates the exiiaust therefor. ll designates a balanced 1 the pin l t t? designates a governor cylinder in which adapted to reciprocate the piston ii bovc said piston l5 the cylinder at? is con nected by a pipe 8 to the feed water pipe 2 and below said piston said cylinder is connected by the pipe at) with the steam supply pipe 39. The standards are provided with flanges 51 and Flange at is connected to the governor cylinder by bolted engagementand is provided with a stutling box 53 through which the stem -l-2 of said valve t1 pt Flange is rigidly con nected to the valve ll.

designates plugs screwed into apertures in the upper and lower parts of the cylinder -l=T. Upon reinoving these plugs any refuse that may have collected in the cylinder may be readily blown out through these apertures.

5a designates a lever of the first order, one end being provided with a yoke embracing the standards 50. The lever 5a is mounted to oscillate upon the fulcrum 56 on said standard and is pivotally connected by the pin 55 to the stem 4-2 of the balanced valve a1.

57 designates an adjustable weight on the lever arm 5st and is fixed in any desirable position by the set screw 63.

It is obvious that the feed water pressure must be greater than the steam pressure in order for the feed water to enter the boiler. The pressure on the top of the piston is therefore greater than that on the bottom and said weight is therefore so adjusted as to just overbalance the pressure on the top of said piston coacting with the steam pressure on the under side of said piston and therefore serves to open said valve ell whenever the piston a5 is relieved from the excess of pressure above it in the cylinder 47.

Provisions are made by the aperture 58 v in the lever 54 and the aperture 59 in the standard 50 to fulcrum the lever at this place and thereby convert said lever into a lever of the second order so as to cause a reverse motion of the valve stem 42 by a downward movement of said lever.

Having thus described the various parts throughoutthe several views and upon their being proportioned and connected throughout, all of which will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention relates, its mode of operation will be substantially as follows he position of the mechanism as shown in the accompanying drawings is such as they occupy when the expansion tube has expanded due to the low water level as shown and water is being admitted to the boiler through the check valve 3 supplied under pressure from the pump l. The water in the boiler will thus continue to rise until normal water level. is reached when, the tube (3 will be deprived of steam due to the water in the gage acting as a seal to the pipe '7 that supplies steam to said tube Said tube (5 being deprived of steam will get cold and contract and the following movements of the mechanism will take place. The tube 6 being pivotally connected to the short arm of the bell crank lever and the fulcrum of said lever being in a fixed position, the contraction of said tube will cause the bell crank lever to oscillate on its fulcrum i lin such a direction as to lower the long arm of said bell crank lever and thus deprive the lever arm 83 of its snpporting force. The pressure acting under the valve 3 has caused the valve to lift to such a height as determined by the engagement of the cam with the roller l t is obvious that so long as pressure is acting on the under side of said valve the roller 27 will be kept in engagement with the cam 30 and the amount of opening of the valve will therefore be determined by the relative position of the cam in relation to said roller. As aforesaid the weight 3l acting through its leverage is sufiicient to cause the cam to depress the roller and thereby close the valve and as the contraction 9f said expansion tube has deprived, as aforesaid the lever 83 of its supporting force, the weight will descend forcing the cam to move in such a direction as to depress the roller and. there by close the valve 3, shutting oil the feed water to said boiler. The cam is free to escillate until it has firmly seated the valve on its seat which will restrict any further movement of the cam. The said tube being now deprived of steam and upon becoming cold the steam therein condenses causing a slight reduction in pressure in said tube which is accompanied by a slight surging of water froin the boiler. This water together with the water of condensation is drained back to the boiler.

The maximum oscillation of the cam is detern'iined by the pin 31 which is adapted to engage with the yoke 29 and on this position the cam will have depressed the valve the maximum distance. 1t is obvious that with the proper adjustment of the position of the cam in relation to the said roller on the stem of said valve, that any wear on the valve or the parts connected thereto will be readily taken up by the increased degree of movement of the cam and will so continue until the maximum degree of oscillation shall have taken place which is determined by the pin 31 engaging with the yoke 29 as aforesaid. The balanced valve ll being still on the opened position allows the pump to con tinue to act.

It is obvious that the valve 3 being closed and there being no outlet for the feed. water, the hydraulic 'n'essure in the feed line 2 will. rise. The top of the cylinder l? being thus connected to the feed water line 2 by the pipe 48, the top of the piston acting therein will be subjected to and under the influence of this increased pressure. 'lhe lever arm, as aforesaid is so adjusted that its force coacting with the steam pressure on the under side of the piston, supplied by the pipe 49, will just raise the balanced valve ll against normal feed water pressure acting on the top of said piston. lhe continued action of the pump will. cause the hydraulic pressure to increase on the top of the piston and will continue so until it is of sufi icient amount to overpower the eifect of the lever arm and the steam pressure as aforesaid and cause the valve to lower and close the steam supply to the pump, and the lpump being thus deprived of steam will cease to operate. The conditions are now as follows: The water in the boiler is at normal level. the valve 3 has closed the feed water to the boiler and the pump has ceased operating. There is however sufficient pres sure in the feed line 2 to admit water to the boiler in case the valve 3 opens. The water in the boiler will. waporate and thus lower the level of the same. hen the water shall have evaporated below the normal level as indicated, steam will be admitted to the ex pansion tube (3 which will cause it to expand and thercl raise the long arm of the lever which in turn will raise the lever arm 33 through the connecting rod 37. The raising of the lever arm 33 will release the pressure of the cam on the roller 27 and the water .-ressure acting under the valve will lift the .ame and allow water to be admitted to the boiler under pressure that was determined when the valve 11 closed the steam supply to the pump. The feed water line 2 being thus relieved of the excess of pressure will also relieve the excess of pressure acting on the top of the piston 45. This reduction of pressure will therefore allow the weight 57 coacting with the steam pressure on the under side of said piston to open said valve and allow a steam supply to said pump. The pump being thus subjected to steam pressure will start to act and furnish feed water to the boiler under the desired pressure. The water will continue to rise in the boiler under this condition until the expansion tube is closed to the steam supply when a cycle of operation will take place as aforesaid and thus accomplish the aforesaid first, second and sixth objects of our said invention.

fitter the alve 3 has been closed against the boiler feed line it is obvious that the hydraulic pressure in said feed water line will rise due to the continued action of the pump. The balance weight 3%, as aforesaid is just sufficient to close the check valve' 3 under normal feed water pressure and it is therefore obvious that abnormal feed water pressure will open the 'alve against the weight 31 and allow water to be admitted to the boiler at an undesirable time unless the mechanism controlling said valve is so arranged so as to prohibit the same. The contact between the roller and cam being of line contact it is obvious that the leverage acting on the cam by the upward pressure of the stem 25. due to abnormal hydraulic pressure, will be reduced to a minimum. Any increased hydraulic pressure acting on the valve will be so near in a straight line against the pivot and this force being with so small a leverage will be unable to move said cam from its position. The cam being in a fixed position maintains the valve on its closed position. thus preventing water from being admitted to the boiler due to the abnormal hydraulic pressure on the feed l i l r l l l l l 1 line, after the contraction of said expansion tube has closed said valve and thus accomplishing the heretofore third mentioned object of our said invention.

The expansion tube 6 being pivotally connected to the bell crank lever arm 13 by the connecting member 23, it is obvious the altitude of the free end of the tube changes as the bell crank lever oscillates through its degree of travel. This change of the altitude of the free end of the tube will change the angle formed by said tube and the beam (34 acting as a base. It is obvious that if the parts 10 and 11 were in a fixed position rela tive to the tube and the base 64; an undue bending strain would be exerted on the tube as the altitude of the free end of said tube varied. The parts 10 and 11 being pivoted by the pin 12 will readily yield to any angular change of the tube with the base 12, caused by the oscillation of said bell crank lever and therefore no undue bending strain will be exerted 011 said tube in its act of expanding or contracting and thus accomplish the aforesaid fourth mentioned object of our said invention.

64: being a beam or channel located above the boiler is usually of rough surface due to dirt and paint thereon and it is obvious that if the angle formed by said base and said expansion tube is fixed and cannot be varied considerable trouble will then be experienced in making the connection of the free end of the tube to the short arm 13 of the bell crank lever. If these connections do not coincide upon the tightening down of the supports an undue strain will be exerted on the tube which will cause its liability to buckle on expansion or contraction. As aforesaid the expansion tube 6 being pivoted to the support 11, will allow a limited change in the angle formed by the base 12 and said tube which will relieve any tendency of the tube 6 to strain upon the tightening down of the supporting members and thus accomplish the aforesaid fifth mentioned object of our said invention.

We are aware that expansion tubes have been employed in connection with devices for controlling the flow of feed water to a boiler but know of none similar to that which is herewith shown and described.

lVe do not wish to limitourselves to the exact construction of the apparatus as shown it is obvious that slight departures can be made therefrom without departing from the spirit and intent of our said invention.

Having thus described the nature and objects of our said invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Pat cut; is,

1. In a boiler feed regulator, in combination with the feed line. and a valve therein provided with a stem a yoke adj ustably connected to said stem, a roller pivoted between the arms of said yoke, a second yoke supported from the feed line, a cam pivoted between the arms of said second yoke and having its free end guided between the arms of first yoke, a pin carried by said cam to engage the second yoke and thereby act as a stop for limiting the movement of the cam, a lever connected to said cam, an adjustable weight on one end of said lever, and means to operate said lever by the boiler water level.

In a boiler feed regulator, the combination with an expansion tube connected to the boiler below and at the normal water level therein and a feed line with a valve therein provided with a stem, of a roller rotatably connected to said stem, a cam, means for pivotally supporting said cam at its upper end from the feed line, said cam being adapted to have its lower end engage with said roller, a counter weighted arm eonnect ed to said cam and extending outwardly from one side of the cam above the lower end of the cam, and a connection between said expansion tube and said cam.

In a boiler feed regulator, the combination with an expansion tube connected to the boiler below and at the normal water level therein and a feed line with a valve therein provided with a stem, of a yoke extending upwardly from the feed line, a cam pivoted at its top end between the arms of the yoke and being adapted for engagement with the stem to operate the same, means carried by the cam arranged on one side thereof and extending outwardly therefrom to engage with the yoke to restrict the swinging movement of the cam, and a connection between said expansion tube and said cam.

t. In a boiler feed regulator, the combination with an expansion tubeconneeted to the boiler below and at the normal water level therein, and a feed line with a valve therein provided with a stem, of a yoke carried by and supported from the feed line and extending upwardly to be disposed on opposite sides of the valve stem, a cam pivoted between the arms of the yoke at the upper end of the same, and being disposed between the sides of the yoke, a second yoke carried by ,the valve stem and disposed between the said first yoke to engage said roller of the arms of the first named yoke, a roller journaled between the arms of the second yoke and adapted to be engaged by said cam, and a connection between said expansion tube and said cam.

5. In a boiler feed regulator, in combina tion with the feed line, and a valve therein provided with a stem, a cam pivotally supported so as to directly overlie said valve stem, and adjustable means carried by the stem to engage said cam, said means being formed to receive the cam so as to guide the latter and being held against rotation by engagement with the opposite side faces of the cam, and means to operate the cam by the level of the water in the boiler.

6. In a boiler feed regulator, in combination with a feed line, and a valve therein provided with a stem, a cam, means for pivotally supporting said cam, said cam being adapted for engagement with the stem to operate same, means carried by the cam arranged on one side thereof to engage with said supporting means to restrict the swing ing movement of the cam, and means to operate said cam by the level oi the water in the boiler.

7. In a boiler feed regulator, in combination with a feed line and a valve therein provided with a stem, a yoke, a cam pivoted to the yoke and extending downwardly in the space between the arms of the yoke, one side of the cam extending outwardly from the adjacent side of the yoke, and a pin ear ried by said outwardly projecting side of the cam and extending outwardly from one of the sides of the latter to engage the adjacent side of the yoke to restrict the swinging movement of the cam.

HOWARD E. CADE. DAVID R. KNAPP.

lVitnesses DAVID LEVINSON, GEORGE B. SMi'rri. 

